Cooking
- 32 Students!
My wine classes have typically had a dozen or so students. So imagine my surprise when my dean wrote to tell me that I had 29 students for my current course. And then imagine it when I showed up last night and found that I had 32. And only two of them...
- Varietal Is The Spice Of Life
When I started writing about wine professionally, an editor corrected my use of "varietal" as a noun, preferring "variety" instead. My computer's dictionary also considers "varietal" to be an adjective and not a noun. But it's not hard to find...
- These Silly Tastings
Numerous people have mentioned yet another wine tasting in which California wines beat out the French. What I keep wondering is not "why do the French keep losing" but "why do this at all?" Napa Cabernets. Bordeaux. Despite some surface...
- Enroll Early, Enroll Often.
Look into my eyes. You want to learn about German wines. And Austrian wines. And Eastern European wines. You want to taste them. You want to impress your friends with your command of the wines of the Rhine and Danube. Now you have the chance. UC Berkeley...
- Ann Noble
Today's Chronicle has a nice piece on Ann Noble. Noble created the Aroma Wheel, which helped standardize the language for describing wine, and has been a leading force in helping people describe wine not based on whether they like it or not, but...
Cooking
What Every Boy And Girl Wants
Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day gift? How about a cool six-week-long UC Berkeley Extension wine course in San Francisco, starting in early April? You might think this is a hard gift to find, but you'd be wrong. Click the link, pull out your credit card, and taste wine with me.
I'm putting together my syllabus, and I wanted to share the top-level class descriptions with you so that you can see how much fun you'll have.
- Class 1: Your Tongue Tastes...
Discover how different amounts of acid, sugar, tannins, and alcohol affect the taste, feel, and structure of a wine. Then taste typical store wines, and describe where each one falls on the line of acidity, sweetness, tannin, and alcohol levels. - Class 2: ...But Your Nose Knows
Smell through countless vials, and try to identify the items hidden within. Smell some of those items immersed in glasses of wine. Then smell varietal wines typical of their grapes, and identify the scents in the glass. - Class 3: Pew! What Is That Stink?
Learn to identify some of the most common faults in a bottle of wine. Learn that one wine's fault can be another's feature. - Class 4: How Much Wood...?
Learn about the effect of oak on wine. Taste wines made with French, American, new, and old barrels. Compare to wines made in stainless steel tanks, and learn how barrels are made. - Class 5: Become A Terroirist
Terroir, the idea that wine has a sense of place, is one of the industry's big buzzwords. Is it real? Or is it bunk? You'll taste similar wines from different geographies and learn how the complex mix of soil and sun can shape the fruit. - Class 6: Go On A Blender
Make your own Bordeaux blend. You'll have varietal wines from each of the major Bordeaux grapes, and you'll have to mix them to your taste.
- 32 Students!
My wine classes have typically had a dozen or so students. So imagine my surprise when my dean wrote to tell me that I had 29 students for my current course. And then imagine it when I showed up last night and found that I had 32. And only two of them...
- Varietal Is The Spice Of Life
When I started writing about wine professionally, an editor corrected my use of "varietal" as a noun, preferring "variety" instead. My computer's dictionary also considers "varietal" to be an adjective and not a noun. But it's not hard to find...
- These Silly Tastings
Numerous people have mentioned yet another wine tasting in which California wines beat out the French. What I keep wondering is not "why do the French keep losing" but "why do this at all?" Napa Cabernets. Bordeaux. Despite some surface...
- Enroll Early, Enroll Often.
Look into my eyes. You want to learn about German wines. And Austrian wines. And Eastern European wines. You want to taste them. You want to impress your friends with your command of the wines of the Rhine and Danube. Now you have the chance. UC Berkeley...
- Ann Noble
Today's Chronicle has a nice piece on Ann Noble. Noble created the Aroma Wheel, which helped standardize the language for describing wine, and has been a leading force in helping people describe wine not based on whether they like it or not, but...